Disney Is Winding Down The Hulu App - Here's What Subscribers Need To Know

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Disney is combining nan Hulu app and nan Disney+ app adjacent year.
• Most Hulu contented is disposable connected Disney+ already, but not each - you still request nan Hulu app for now.
• You'll still beryllium capable to subscribe to Hulu and Disney+ arsenic standalone services.

If you're a Hulu user, you'll apt beryllium changing apps soon. 

During today's quarterly net results announcement, CEO Bob Iger said nan institution would beryllium "fully integrating Hulu into Disney+," meaning nan standalone Hulu app will vanish sometime successful 2026. Disney announced plans for a mixed Hulu and Disney+ app back successful 2023, pinch plans to unify nan 2 by "March of adjacent year" (2024), but that hasn't happened yet.

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While astir Hulu contented is already disposable connected nan Disney+ app, immoderate is only disposable successful nan Hulu app owed to licensing restrictions. Additionally, contented from third-party add-ons for illustration Max and Showtime is besides only disposable done nan Hulu app, truthful you do still request nan existent Hulu app for now. 

Hulu arsenic a work isn't going away. You'll still beryllium capable to bargain a standalone Hulu subscription and a standalone Disney+ subscription, but it's clear nan institution is pushing bundles. Disney said the Hulu + Live TV service will technically beryllium mixed pinch Fubo, but some services will beryllium marketed and sold separately.

In nan aforesaid call, Disney besides announced that it planned to extremity reporting subscriber numbers (something Netflix has already done). It will still denote erstwhile it reaches milestone numbers, but will not supply regular updates.

While switching from 1 app to different mightiness not look for illustration a large deal, location are apt immoderate hidden ramifications to this change. One, immoderate users get a free Hulu pinch ads acknowledgment to their Spotify Premium subscription. Also, immoderate users get a Spotify discount acknowledgment to having a Hulu relationship -- including immoderate who person been grandfathered successful erstwhile Hulu was a free streaming service. It's not clear what will hap to those bundles; I've reached retired for an explanation. 

A caller sports-centric streaming work that includes WWE

Disney besides plans to motorboat a caller standalone sports streaming work that's disposable without a cablegram subscription. The ESPN streaming work will motorboat successful August for $29.99 a month, aliases $35.99 a period if you bundle pinch Disney+ and Hulu.

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ESPN streaming will get you each contented from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, and ESPN+, positive unrecorded contented for illustration Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Baseball, and College Football Primetime. Any crippled that airs connected ABC (Disney owns ABC) will beryllium disposable excessively -- 47,000 unrecorded events a twelvemonth successful total. Disney announced coming that this work will besides watercourse each WWE premium unrecorded events successful their entirety, including WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Money successful nan Bank, and more.

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